Julianna Peña is focused on getting a third and final fight with Amanda Nunes.
The ‘Venezuelan Vixen’ dethroned the ‘Lioness’ at UFC 269, where she submitted the then-UFC bantamweight champion by second-round rear-naked choke in one of the greatest upsets in UFC history. An immediate rematch was scheduled, and both women served as the headliner of UFC 277 this past July.
This time, Nunes dominated Peña, as she knocked down the newly crowned champion several times and fended off submission attempts en route to a unanimous decision. With such a dominant showing, there was discourse around whether Peña should receive an immediate rematch, like the one she gave to Nunes. Arguments have been made in favor of and against it, but Peña believes the answer is obvious.
“There’s no other fight I can see,” said Peña [H/T Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated]. “I gave her a rematch, immediately, within six months. It’s time for her to return the favor. Not much else needs to be said other than we’re 1-1. This needs to be solved in a trilogy fight. Let’s make it happen.”
For Peña, avenging a loss to Nunes and reclaiming the championship would be great.
“Amanda was able to dig deep,” said Peña. “Something I find really interesting is that, after she lost to me, there were so many excuses as to why she lost. For me, there are no excuses. I could come up with excuses, but I’m not here to do that. Let’s settle this fair and square in a trilogy.”
Nunes has yet to announce her return to the Octagon, but the two-division champion has a few options to consider. She could complete a different trilogy with Valentina Shevchenko, return to the featherweight division or wait for the winner of Ketlen Vieira vs. Raquel Pennington, which could very well serve as a title eliminator.
